New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out! (4/10 chapters)

 

 

As Night Falls

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

“Hmm…” (Elt)

Apparently, I had fallen asleep. I blinked my eyes open on the sofa. When I noticed, the outside of the window was already dyed by the setting sun. It was the typical fogginess that comes right after waking up. My mind was dull and not functioning well.

On my lap was a book that was halfway open. If I remembered correctly, it was a collection of Zanzas legends for children. Gradually, my mind started clearing up. Right, I had finished sword training and taken a shower.

After that, I started reading the book while lazing on the sofa. I must have been more tired than I thought.

“Did you wake up?” (Stella)

“Ah… sorry, I was leaning on you.” (Elt)

I hurriedly sat up. I had been resting my weight as if I were asleep on a train seat.

“Huh? It’s totally fine. Even though it’s your day off, you worked hard with training and studying… You looked comfortable, so I didn’t wake you.” (Stella)

I didn’t want to be spoiled, or rather, I thought spoiling was bad. I couldn’t say for sure how I felt. Anyway, since we will be in a superior-subordinate relationship, I had to pull myself together.

“Next time, please wake me up. Really…” (Elt)

“Elt-sama doesn’t waver on that point, does he?” (Stella)

After all, I think of myself as an adult. Well, Stella is the same though…

“But please don’t overdo it. Everyone understands how hard Elt-sama works.” (Stella)

Compared to my previous life, this is nothing… Ugh, my head… last train home, overnight work… No, I should stop. Using my past life as a comparison lowers the standard.

“…Got it. Overdoing it isn’t good.” (Elt)

That was true.

I stood up from the sofa and stretched. The nap seemed to have helped. My body felt light.

“It’s already getting dark… I left Dia and Marcosias with the adventurers. Wood must still be playing in the plaza, right?” (Elt)

“Yes, no one has returned yet. Shall we go pick them up?” (Stella)

“Ah, yes. Dia and Marcosias might be too tired to have the energy to return on their own.” (Elt)

I felt guilty about leaving them to return alone. It would be bad as a parent.

Alright, I’ll go pick them up.

 

—

 

The village plaza. There were no clouds in the sky, and the sunset was beautiful. Wood was big and easy to spot. That must be it.

The Nyaff tribe were piled up on white fluffy seeds, taking a nap. They must have played hard.

Wood was sitting nearby, stroking the pile of Nyaff tribe. I was a bit jealous. It looked fun. We quietly approached Wood. But before that, Brown, who was in the mountain, called out to us. He looked somewhat sleepy but was clearly awake. His voice was firmer than I expected.

“Elt-sama, is something wrong, nya…?” (Brown)

“Hm? You were awake… No, it’s almost night. I came to pick up Wood.” (Elt)

“Ugo-ugo, picking up?” (Brown)

“Nya, I see, nya… It’s already evening, nya. Everyone’s about to disband, nya…!” (Brown)

When Brown called out, the pile of Nyaff tribe gradually scattered. Everyone looked fluffy. They seemed satisfied. Though the white fluff was stuck to them quite a lot. Stella’s eyes were wide open.

“…Looks like they played pretty hard…” (Stella)

“The Nyaff tribe all ended up covered in fluff. Well, they probably wanted that.” (Brown)

Then, Brown, after brushing off the fluff, quietly approached me.

“Thanks to Wood, we could play happily, nyan. Thank you very much, nya.” (Brown)

“That’s good to hear. How’s the fluff?” (Elt)

“Soft and fluffy, it was the best, nya.” (Brown)

“Ugo-ugo, that’s great!” (Brown)

Brown, then, lowered his voice. He gave off a bit of an old-fashioned merchant vibe, like an Edo-period villain.

“…Probably, other fluffy-loving species will also like it, nya.” (Brown)

“I see… Got it.” (Elt)

“Of course, the Nyaff tribe want to play again, nya…!” (Brown)

Looking around, Nyaff tribe gathered around Wood and said their goodbyes. This was how human connections grow. I was also very supportive of Wood going out to play. It would surely be a good memory for Wood.

“…Still, I didn’t expect to get a skill from the Flower Archer, nya. Did you have any certainty about that?” (Brown)

“Well, more or less.” (Elt)

Let’s leave it at that.

In fact, Wood had a decent chance to get something to make him stronger. [Seed Bullet] took time to grow but was a highly versatile skill. I never thought the fluff bullets, which were almost a joke, would be popular.

“As expected of Elt-sama, you also have knowledge about skills, nya. Even ordinary nobles rarely reach this level, nyan.” (Brown)

Brown nodded, impressed. The system here wasn’t different from the game. My knowledge from the previous life was very useful.

“Well then, we should be going. Dia and Marcosias might be waiting.” (Elt)

“Nya, understood, nya.” (Brown)

Brown said that and began gathering the Nyaff tribe in a line. Soon, the lined-up Nyaff tribe all bowed politely. They were very well-mannered here.

“Thank you for today, nya!” (Brown)

““Nyaaaa!”” (Nyaff)

“Ugo-ugo, you’re welcome!” (Wood)

“Good night!” (Elt)

“Be careful on your way home!” (Stella)

We parted ways with the Nyaff tribe. Alright, now for Dia and Marcosias.

Just then, Leia came running. She looked quite hurried. For her, it was rare to be out of breath and flustered.

Did something happen?

My heart raced but I kept calm. I had to hear the situation first before anything else.

“Haa, haa…” (Leia)

“What’s wrong, are you okay?” (Stella)

“Yeah… something terrible happened…!” (Leia)

“Is it a monster?” (Leia)

“Haa haa… No. It’s a visitor… and a huge one at that.” (Leia)

“…Oh, a visitor, huh.” (Elt)

She was very flustered, so I wondered what was going on. But since Leia said that, it must be someone important.

Maybe some noble?

Stella looked relieved and urged Leia to continue.

“But what happened? Why are you so panicked…? Who came?” (Stella)

“…A costume.” (Leia)

Huh?

“A costume of a cockatrice, worn by the S-rank adventurer Nana, came here…!” (Leia)

…Sorry. I have no idea what she was talking about.

 

—

 

S-rank adventurer, Nana. She was a vampire princess and a great scholar of magical civilization. She knew the structure of dungeons and monsters well, and was so knowledgeable that many countries invited her. However, as a free spirit, she remained an adventurer and continued traveling casually to satisfy her curiosity…

That was Leia’s explanation.

By the way, she was definitely not a villain but seemed eccentric. Kind of like Leia in a way. She was the type who did adventuring simply because she wanted to do what she wanted. Why she was wearing a cockatrice costume… before we could ask that, we arrived at the second plaza.

The sun was about to hide behind the mountain. It was slowly getting dark. In the second plaza, Nana in the cockatrice costume was swinging a bat.

…Why?

Adventurers were around, watching cautiously but unsure what to do. I didn’t know what to do either.

At Nana’s feet, Dia was making piyo sounds.

“Good piyo, looks tasty to hit! You’re a capable companion, piyo!” (Dia)

“Is that so?” (Nana)

“The waist movement is sharp, piyo! So rhythmic, piyo piyo!” (Dia)

“Ah, I paid attention to the waist area. I didn’t want it to feel bulky. You can tell?” (Nana)

“Nice and sleek, piyo. Especially the back is tight and neat, piyo.” (Dia)

“That’s right. Hmph, you’re quite perceptive.” (Nana)

…What kind of conversation is this?

But Nana sounded very cheerful. I still had no clue why she came.

She wouldn’t just come here to practice swinging a bat, right?

Passing through the net, we entered the second plaza. Dia noticed us and ran over quickly.

“Ah, Tou-sama, Kaa-sama, Onii-chan, piyo!” (Dia)

“We came to pick you up.” (Elt)

For now, I still didn’t know Nana’s business, but she didn’t seem bad. She was playing along with Dia.

Nana followed Dia walking toward us. Although it was a costume, she moved surprisingly fast.
It was definitely a functional outfit. When Nana got close, she knelt down without hesitation. It was my first time being kneeled to by a Cockatrice…

“…I take you to be Elt Nagash-sama.” (Nana)

“Yes, that’s right… but are you the adventurer Nana?” (Elt)

“Yes, sorry to appear in this form. But by now–…” (Nana)

Nana looked around carefully. It was getting dark enough. She began fidgeting inside the costume.

Ah… This is about to happen…

“It’s getting dark, so I will take it off.” (Nana)

She said that, and the back of the costume opened, revealing an androgynous girl with blue hair.

She messed up. And in front of Dia, too.

“Piyo!?” (Dia)

Dia screamed loudly.

Well… that is to be expected.

However, the next thing Dia said was unexpected.

“Is she shedding skin, piyo…!?” (Dia)

Yeah, that’s not it…

 

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)